Faith on the Go: Ep 2: Holy Reverence vs. Familiar Assumptions: Moses and Uzzah"

0:00 Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with our Faith on the Go series. As we continue with episode two, Holy Ground or Dangerous Ground, Moses and Uzzah. Let's open up in prayer. As we declare like Jabez that God hand us upon us, our territory is expanding, we are kept from harm, and our prayers are heard, and they will be answered. Here we rise from pain, walk in truth, and return to deep intimacy with God, healed, empowered, and walking boldly in divine purpose. So let's get going. So we're going to finish up.

0:41 We're going to start off where we left off. We see here that the same presence, we'll find out here that the same presence that promoted Moses is the same presence that struck down Uzzah. One removed his shoes, the other reached out his hand. One showed reverence and the other showed assumptions. And that's what we're going to talk about today. So like I said, welcome back to Faith on the Go, Diary of Black Women podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and this is episode two in our series, The Curse of Familiarity, Rediscovering Reverence and Restoring Awe.

1:22 Today, we're going to study two men, two moments, and one holy God. We're going to compare Moza and Uzzah. Let's see what happens here. Because both were in proximity to the presence of God. Both had encounters with what was sacred, but their outcomes were drastically different. That tells us something. It's not proximity that protects you. is your posture. Let's talk about Moses' posture, the posture of reverence. We can see that. We can learn about Moses in Exodus 3, verses 1 through 5 in the NIV.

2:07 I'll be reading. It says, there the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw through the bush was on fire. So he saw the bush on fire and it didn't burn up. When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him. Do not come any closer, God said. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. Now understand that Moses was always in the back bush area because he was a shepherd. So he knew this land. But there was something different happening.

2:48 A bush was burning without being consumed. and he turned his side. So think about it. Bushes kind of maybe spontaneous catch on fire a lot in the wilderness because it's hot and it's always the sun is burning down. But for this particular bush, Moses caught Moses' eye. And so when he caught his eye, a guy waited to speak until Moses paused. So he caught his eye And Moses was pretty much probably looking at the bush, you know, saying, this bush is not going to just, this fire is not consuming this bush.

3:30 And then the command came, remove your shoes. This is holy ground. That was a moment, I believe, for Moses to decide to go like, okay, the bush is now talking to me. is not being consumed. Now it's talking. But what Moses did was he obeyed. He didn't assume. He didn't reach. He just removed his sandals. He acknowledged the ground had changed because God was there. Reverence gave him access. Reverence birthed his calling. Reverence opened up his revelation. How powerful is that?

4:13 How powerful that Moses, who's a shepherd, who may have saw a common thing in the wilderness. Become holy right before his eye. But he didn't allow that familiarity to prevent him from hearing the voice of the Lord. Oh, that is some good stuff right there. And how often does God speak to us in our common spaces? And we often ignore it. Oh, that can't be God speaking to me right here as I'm in the grocery store buying eggs for breakfast. Come on now. God wants to speak to you whenever he can have that moment with you.

4:56 Whenever that moment when your mind is not busy about something else, he will just sneak in and speak to you. That holy moment becomes a holy spot in the grocery store where you're purchasing your eggs or your bread or your juice or whatever you're at the grocery store buying. Today, I was on my way to drop off some, I was purging my closet. Yes, again, because I bought some new things. And when I buy new things, I take old things out. And I was taking some things to the Salvation Army or the Goodwill. And he was talking to me about something. And my car just became holy. The Spirit of God just filled the car. And I was like, oh, my gosh. So what I learned now is I keep paper towel in my backseat because I usually, you know, or napkins or Kleenex, because I know when God wants to speak, I get really watery and crying.

5:51 And so that particular morning, it was just the oddest thing. I said, let me put some paper towel in my back seat of my car, because just out of the ordinary, I did that. And lo and behold, I was ready for when God wanted to make my car holy ground for him to speak to me. So we see here that Moses did not make any assumptions. He just followed the God, followed what God said. This is holy ground. At that moment, things shifted and things changed. And Moses was ready. Now let's look at Uzzah, what happened with him. The posture of assumption.

6:31 Okay, when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark because it was shaking. Ark of God because the oxen stumbled and the Lord's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act. Therefore, God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God. The ark of the covenant represented God's throne and presence. God had given strict instructions. Only Levites could carry it, and even then not to touch it. But Uzzah, who had grown up around it, it had been in his house for 20 years. He had become familiar.

7:16 But when it began to fall, he reached out his hand. That hand was steady, but it wasn't sanctified, and God struck him down. Why did God strike him down? Because even well-meaning irreverence is still irreverence. Wow. Even well-meaning irreverence is still irreverence. I like to say it. Disrespect is disrespect, no matter how you put it. I didn't mean to be disrespectful. What it looked like, disrespect to me. You didn't mean it, but it looked like it. God said that to Uzzah. You didn't mean it, but it looked like it. And so, boom, you dead.

8:02 Let's see what happens when we compare both Moses and Uzzah together. What happened? Moses turned aside. Uzzah reacted quickly. Moses removed his shoes. Uzzah reached out his hands. Moses waited for God's word. Uzzah acted without God's permission. Moses treated the ground as holy. Uzzah treated the ark as familiar. Moses received calling. Uzzah received judgment. Beloved, this is not a game. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

8:43 He rewards reverence, but he resists those who treat him casually. So what is your posture? Are you removing your shoes? Or grabbing at things God didn't call you to touch? Ouch! Are you removing your shoes? Are you grabbing at things God called you, didn't call you to touch? Are you walking with reverence or assuming God will bless anything you do? Familiarity makes you reach, but reverence makes you remove. Oh, let me say that again. Are you removing your shoes or grabbing at things God didn't call you to touch?

9:30 What is that, that God is telling you don't touch that? But you're going to say, well, that won't hurt me. That ain't going to hurt me. I'm a Christian. I'm going to pray about it. When he says don't touch it, are you walking in reverence? Are you assuming God will bless anything you do? For me, it already makes you reach. For reverence makes you remove. Makes you stay, makes you think. It's like, is that the Lord? And then you want to stop and listen. I think that's the Lord. I'm going to stop. How many of us done that? When you said, don't go there, and you go, I think that's the Lord.

10:12 I think I'm going to stop. Or you go, I don't think that's the Lord, and you go forward. So today I invite you to check your posture. Let's pray. Father, forgive me for the places I've moved too quickly, for the things I've touched that you never called me to handle, for the moments I treated the sacred as familiar. Help me to be like Moses to pause, to turn aside, to take off my shoes when you are near, to walk, to want to stand on holy ground, not as one who grabs but one who listens, honors, and obeys in Jesus' name in Jesus' name, amen let's do a declaration, say this out loud I will not touch what I have not been called to carry I will not reach an assumption I will walk in reverence I will remove my shoes, God is holy and I will treat him as holy Ooh, God is holy and I would treat him as holy It makes you want to pause, right?

11:27 Because Uzzah, you think that wasn't, he didn't want the ark to fall Like that was a good thing But God didn't need his help You think he, the holy one of Israel, could have stopped it? Ooh, did it hit the ground? It didn't hit the ground, did it? It never hit the ground. Ooh, that's powerful. This message is not about fear. It's about honor. It's a call back to holy ground living because you don't need a title to have reverence. You don't need a pulpit to remove your shoes. You just need to know God is here and he is holy.

12:08 The next episode, we'll explore how the church has normalized the sacred and what happens when the sanctuary becomes a stage. Until then, this is Connie Morris, your host, Connie Morris, reminding you to walk slow, speak soft, and honor his presence. Let's close this out with the declaration and promise from Jeremiah 29, 11-14, that God knows the plans he has for you, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. And when you seek him with all your heart, you will find him. He will bring you back from captivity and restore everything that was lost.

12:52 Hold on. Your healing, your clarity, and your breakthrough are closer than you think. This is more than a podcast. This is the return to God's plan for your life. Let's keep walking this out together. Stay connected on my website, diaryofblackwomenlsc.com Check out my email address. Diaryofblackwomenpodcast at gmail Twitch is coming your way diaryofblackwomen.tv And until next time speak soft and honor his presence.